


Flesh Wound

by Qym



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-28 07:27:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11413098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qym/pseuds/Qym
Summary: Officer-in-Training by day and babysitter-by-night, Emma tends to keep fairly busy. After an accident that results in a stab wound, Emma winds up in Dr. Mills's Emergency Room to get stitched up.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the cleaned up version of a story that used to be posted on this account. The story will remain the same, but there will be minor changes to grammar, typos, and style.

“Roman,” Emma said, voice remarkably steady. “Would you stop harassing those nice people and come here? I need you to sit next to me, buddy.”

The four year old froze in his tracks and turned slowly, his large, brown eyes fixating on her as if he were a deer and she were an oncoming semi. Then, incrementally, his lips peeled back over his teeth, and mischief filled his eyes. Please, Emma begged silently, just this once--please behave. The moment her prayer was completed, he dashed off through the waiting room.

She couldn’t get up to chase him, but she could watch as he dodged past a plethora of injured people. He nearly crashed into someone who looked a moment away from passing out; she winced. If it weren’t ten at night, and if there were literally anyone else she could have called, she wouldn’t have brought her little charge with her. As things stood, she was stuck with the little terror. He’s spirited, Ruby told her. He’s wild, just the way children should be. Emma shook her head; she loved Roman dearly, but sometimes, the kid was just too much to handle.

“Want me ta go get him?”

She glanced down at the little boy sitting next to her. He had a mop of soft brown hair and gentle eyes. When he smiled, the expression was gap-toothed as he was missing several of his lower teeth. He was only a year old than Roman, but he was calm and manageable. Emma didn’t want to make any assumptions, but Henry was her kid, and Roman Ruby’s--so her bet was that it came down to upbringing.

“Would you mind?”

He shook his head. “May I run?”

“Walk fast?”

“Okay.” He eased down off the chair and set off after his best friend. Why the two got along so well, Emma wasn’t sure. She hoped Henry taught Roman more than Roman did Henry, as she really didn’t need her own offspring growing a trouble making-streak.

Emma glanced at the clock and wondered when she’d finally get in to see a doctor. She wasn’t in danger of dying or anything, but she was probably in worse shape than some of the other people waiting around. She kept her fingers pressed to her side, afraid that any change in pressure would release a spurt of blood.

“He’s sorry.” Henry dragged Roman over. “He won’t do it again.”

Roman laughed and tried to get free once again. It was way past their bedtimes, Emma bemoaned, so why couldn’t he just slow down and take a nap? Henry stared solemnly at him until he folded his arms over his tiny chest and plopped to the ground. Good enough, Emma determined. He was nearby, and he wasn’t wrecking anything, both of which were vast improvements.

“Are you gonna be okay?”

She managed a smile. “Don’t worry about me, Henry. Did I ever tell you about the time I almost lost a toe?”

His eyes widened. “No, Momma.”

“You want to hear it, too, Rommie?”

“Yeah.” Roman scooted closer. “You gots to tell us.”

“When I was four, just like you, I went to the beach with my parents. Grandpa warned me that there were all sorts of animals out in the water, and I was to be super careful when I went swimming. I laughed because I thought he was joking.”

“But he wasn’t?” Henry set a hand on her knee. She ruffled his hair.  
“I went out into the water and started swimming around, when all of the sudden I felt something brush against my leg.”

“Oh no!”

“I got really scared then – what if it was a shark?”

Roman giggled. “Did he eat you?”

“She’s still alive, Rommie.” Henry shot him a look that bordered on disdain. “Acourse she didn’t get eated.”

“Good deductive reasoning, buddy.”

He beamed. “I got good ducktive reas’ning.”

“You sure do. Anyway. I knew it probably wasn’t safe to keep swimming, so I started paddling back to shore. That’s when it happened.” She leaned down as much as the pain in her side would allow. “Something grabbed onto my big toe!”

“A shark!”

“Come on, Roman, please don’t yell.”

“Shark!”

Henry clapped his hand over Roman’s mouth. “What happens next?”

“I screamed. I thought I was gonna die, but then Grandpa came out of the water next to me.”

“Did he fight the aminal?”

“He was the animal. He thought it would be funny to play a trick on your dear old mom. I was so angry, I didn’t talk to him for almost an hour.”

Henry smiled. “I’m glad you din’t lose your toe, Momma.”

“Me, too.”

Roman grabbed her shoe and tried to lift it up. “Wanna do it?”

“Do what?” She didn’t let him move her foot, no matter how much effort he put into it.

“Take off the toe!”

“I like my toes, but thanks, Roman. That’s really nice of you to offer.”

“We can--”

“Swan?”

Emma jumped gratefully to her feet. Henry took her hand and then took Roman’s, aware that she was keeping her other hand pressed to her wound. They followed the nurse back to an examination room where Emma gingerly sat on the table.

“Don’t go in the drawers.” Emma took a few deep breaths to push the pain away again. “Henry, keep an eye on him.”

“Okay, Momma.”

The door swung open, and a dark haired doctor walked in, her eyes on Emma’s paperwork. She nudged the door shut before looking up.

“You’re here because you got stabbed?”

“Yeah.”

The doctor glanced at the kids. “And you brought your children to the emergency room?”

“Yeah.”

“How exactly did you get stabbed?”

Emma flushed. “We were playing doctor.”

“Oh?”

“I was the patient, and Roman was the doctor. He knocked me out with laughing gas, so I laughed for him and closed my eyes. Next thing I knew he was trying to remove my appendix. With a real knife.” Emma tried to keep her voice steady. “I came here with them because I’m just babysitting Roman. I couldn’t just leave him alone, and there was nobody else around.”

“You’re remarkably calm.”

“I didn’t want them to panic.”

“How did he get a knife?”

“I have no idea. Before I closed my eyes, he had one of those plastic silverware sets sitting next to him. I guess I’m really lucky he’s not too strong yet, so it’s a shallow wound, but I thought I should probably get it stitched up.”

The doctor bent closer, so she removed her hand from her side. After a moment, the doctor nodded. “I’ll need to clean the area and apply sutures, but you should be out of here in no time.”

“Thanks, doc.” Emma focused her eyes on the doctor’s coat. “Doc Mills, huh?”

“Yes.”

“Got a first name?”

“Why?”

“I like to know the people who have their fingers in me.” Emma blushed. “I mean, well, uh. You know. Uh.”

“Regina.”

“Cool, cool.” Emma hissed as Regina washed the area clean; the cleanse wasn’t necessarily painful so much as shocking. She braced herself for the stitches and kept her eyes on the children playing near her feet. “You been a doctor long?”

“Four years.”

“Don’t say much, do you?”

“I say as much as is required.” Regina paused. “I’ve been told my bedside manner is lacking.”

“I think you’re pretty enough to make up for it.”

“Thank you.”

Emma decided that while she was already embarrassing herself, she might as well go big. The pain was making her a bit daffy, so she’d use the excuse now in order to avoid regret later. ‘Ah, that wasn’t my fault,’ she’d say, ‘I was just in so much pain I couldn’t stop myself.’

“Would you want to get a coffee sometime?”

“What?” Regina looked up from her work.

“You, me, either hot or cold caffeinated beverages?”

“Ms. Swan, you came into my E.R. with a stab wound you received from a three year old.”

“Actually, he’s four.”

“What part of this scenario makes you think I’d be interested in a date?”

“Isn’t the mysterious part?” Emma lifted her eyebrows. “Aren’t you just dying to know what could possibly be worth going on one date with me? What wonders I might show you?”

“I normally prescribe some sort of pain medication, but I think anything stronger than an Aspirin will simply increase your delusions.”

“Okay, okay.” Emma lifted her hands, and then froze when she realized she was shifting the area on which Regina was working.

Regina finished up quickly and taped a bandage over the site. The wound wasn’t deep, which meant her job was easy. She washed her hands at the sink while Emma poked gently at the bandage. Henry stood and tugged on Regina’s coat.

“Mrs. Doctor, will Momma be okay?”

Regina stared down at him and felt her cold façade melting. “Your mother will be fine.”

“She not gonna die, right?”

“Right.”

“Okay, that’s good.”

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Henry David Swan. I’m five years old.” He lifted a hand to show her how many fingers that was. “What’s yours?”

“My name is Regina Elizabeth Mills.” He waited expectantly. “You should know, Mr. Swan, that you should never ask a lady her age.”

“Momma don’t care. Momma’s twenty-five. She’s super old.”

According to the paperwork, Regina calculated that Emma had been twenty five for a good five or so years. She smiled at the happy child at her side, unwilling to break his illusion of his mother.

“Twenty-five is super old? How old are your grandparents, then?”

“Super duper trooper old.” He wrinkled his nose. “I think maybe thirty.”

“Wow. That is old.”

“Super duper trooper old,” he corrected without a hint of reproach.

“Yes, indeed.” She pulled her prescription pad from her pocket and scrawled her number down. Don’t be stupid, she told herself. She shouldn’t go on a date with a strange woman just because her son was entirely too charming. This had nothing to do with her foregoing a family to pursue her work. Absolutely nothing at all. She frowned at her thoughts before slipping the paper into Emma’s waiting hands. “I trust you’ll follow these directions, Ms. Swan.”

“Thanks. I already feel a lot better.”

“Your green hue says otherwise.” Regina walked to the door and shot Emma a final look. The blonde was attractive enough, she decided. Going on one date wouldn’t be too disastrous. “Try to keep the little one away from sharp objects. I’d hate to have to stitch him back together next.”

Emma smirked. “Whatever you say, Doc.”

When Regina was gone, Emma looked down at the prescription. In the neatest handwriting she’d seen from a doctor was a list of three steps.

_1\. If in any pain, take a Tylenol. 2. Replace the bandage as needed. 3. Call me._

At the bottom, by Regina’s signature, Emma found ten digits, which she immediately plugged into her phone. Whatever it was that had changed Regina’s mind, she wasn’t going to take it for granted. She grabbed Henry’s hand, and Henry grabbed Roman’s hand, and together, they tromped back to the waiting room and out to the car.

Before driving away, Emma twisted around to look Roman in the face. “Roman, I can say this now that I’m not bleeding everywhere. You are never to use a real knife on someone ever again. Do you understand me?”

Roman frowned deeply, his eyes filled with moisture, and giant tears dribbled down his cheeks. “I din’t mean to,” he wailed. “You hate me!”

“Roman.”

His cries turned unintelligible, leaving Emma to wonder if he’d actually understood her message whatsoever, or if he ignored the scolding in favor of sobbing. Whatever, she decided. She’d let Ruby deal with his tantrum. She was tired, achy, and ready for bed. Henry, for his part, was sitting patiently in the backseat. She’d definitely have to get him some ice cream later. For now, she would settle for getting them all back to her apartment and safely into bed. Please, she begged for the tenth time that evening, let Roman behave, just this once.


	2. Chapter 2

Regina enjoyed parts of doing her job, if not the entirety. She relished in knowing more than the doctors around her and being able to correctly assess a patient before someone else. She took great pleasure from midnight rounds during which nobody disturbed her. She even liked Tuesdays in the cafeteria when they served meatloaf. Yet, she wished desperately to be doing something else.

Hospitals were financial institutions, a fact which she hated. If there was no insurance, or no benefit to the hospital, there was no reason to treat a patient. Throughout medical school and her residency, Regina had dreamed of opening her own hospital that ran on donations and turned no person away. That dream had crashed and burned the moment she’d gotten her first real position. Because of this, she approached her work with a bitter fervor, frustration building up in her gut. Whenever possible, she took to resting in the lounge so as to relieve some of the anger, and most of the staff knew to leave her alone. Not everyone was considerate, however.

“Mills, your patient up on the fourth floor is claiming that you inserted worms into his stomach during surgery.”

She swiveled her head slowly, giving the speaker ample time to realize his mistake and leave. “You’ll also note that he is on a number of painkillers. I wouldn’t be surprised if he thought that worms had inserted me into his stomach.”

Sydney Glass, R.N., was one of the reasons she wished she could be anywhere else. He had been an employee for nearly a decade and so felt it was his duty to be up to date on all current gossip, whether it was his business or something private. As soon as Regina began working, he latched onto her, following her about and digging into the details of her life--the few she’d give away, that was. She wasn’t fickle enough to think he truly liked her; she had seen him loitering around the Dean of Medicine’s office. She knew he reported what she did to her mother.

Yet none of her less than subtle hints seemed to faze him. She was downright mean to him, but he hung about like he was a duckling and she his imprint. Even now he was gazing at her with a large smile and hopeful eyes. The sight made her cringe--so much for a peaceful break.

“He’s been sedated again.”

“That’s for the best.”

“He--”

“Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.” She stood, having no intention of doing any such thing, and walked toward one of the few places he couldn’t follow: the locker room in which female doctors and nurses changed into their scrubs.

As she entered, she wondered if he would linger outside the door and wait for her to reappear. He was either incredibly thick skulled, or he was aware that she was snubbing him and simply didn’t care. In either event, her opinion of him wouldn’t change; he was just another annoyance in her life--a mosquito buzzing noisily around her head. The metaphor was particularly apt, given that he, the male bug, was in her ear constantly, while her mother sucked the blood from her body. Idly, she flicked through the numbers of her combination and pulled her locker open.

The blonde from the other night hadn’t contacted her. This shouldn’t bother her, she noted, but it very much so did. That woman had hit on her, not the other way around. Regina had done her a kindness in offering her a date. She frowned as she dug through her purse for her phone. She shouldn’t be checking her messages during work, but she needed to see once more that Emma Swan, the idiot who got stabbed by a child, wasn’t interested in seeing her.

She swallowed harshly when she noticed she had two voicemails from an unknown number. Hope was painful, but she couldn’t help but wish that this was the blonde and not some telemarketing scam that had gotten ahold of her number.

“Sorry this took a few days! This is Emma--Emma Swan. The, uh, the stab victim from the other night... You gave me your number? Please let this actually be your number... Well... At first I didn’t know what to say, big surprise right? Hah. But then work happened, and more work, and then it was like three days later and I was like, no, better do it now. You’re probably at work. I am too. So, like, no worries if you can’t call back right away. Or if you don’t want to? I mean, I’d like an answer at some point because otherwise I’d just be sitting there, like, hm maybe she’s still thinking about it. Do me a favor and at least put me out of my misery quickly. You seem--”

She rolled her eyes and selected the next message.

“Okay, so there’s a time limit. Got it. Uh, you, me, coffee? Tomorrow?” Emma rattled her number off and ended with a very quick plea that Regina call her back. Regina smirked down at the phone, something akin to happiness floating in her chest.

She entered Emma’s number into her phone and shot the blonde a quick text in response. With that accomplished, Regina felt much better about facing the rest of her day. She took a deep breath and headed back into the hallway.

“Are you feeling okay?”

She closed her eyes for a moment and found that not even Mr. Glass could bring her spirits down. “Quite well, thank you.”

“You were in there for quite a while.”

“I was unaware that you were timing my bowel movements.”

He blanched. “I wasn’t timing anything. I was just waiting for a while, is all.”

“Don’t you have patients to which you must attend?”

“Oh, yes. Don’t you?”

For the first time in a long while, Regina wasn’t bothered by his puling insistence. She nodded curtly and set off down the hallway. He followed her until his course veered up to the sixth floor, and she was left blissfully alone. As she made her rounds from patient to patient, she let her mind wander. Coffee would be nice, even if Emma Swan didn’t work out. At least she’d be out of the hospital, for a little while anyway.

0-0-0

“Watch it.” Emma batted Graham’s hand away from her stomach. He chuckled and poked at her again; he had no intention of actually touching her sore wound, but he enjoyed making her squirm. Although she pretended to be upset about this process, Emma found the exchange playful, like Graham was the older brother she never had.

“You really think you’ll make it through the physical exam today with your side still like that?”

She shrugged. “If not, there’s another one in a few weeks. If you can do it, then so can I.”

“Anything I can do, you can do better, huh?”  
“Pretty much.”

She resumed stretching, keeping careful attention on her side so that nothing popped or broke or bled. Once she was good and warm, she shot a few practice punches through the air and bounced on her toes. He snorted, but she ignored him. While he had passed the first exam with flying colors, she had overslept because of a late night babysitting. If she were to ever live that down, she would need to put his times to shame.

“Roman keeps asking me when I’ll get a gun. I swear, he’s the cutest kid, but you really need to teach your son manners.”

“Ruby’s the one raising him.” He lifted his hands. “I only get him on holidays and every other weekend. When, exactly, am I supposed to school him in etiquette?”

“You could at least teach him not to stab the babysitter with a knife.”

Graham laughed. “I could tell him, but I doubt he’d listen. Last I heard, you were a willing patient, and he was just trying to help you by removing your exploded appendix.”

“Yeah, Ruby thought this was funny, too.” Emma rolled her eyes. “Remind me again why you two got a divorce?”

He flapped his hand at her. "We’re all fun and games now, but you remember how it got there at the end. We’re better friends than partners.”

“And apparently better friends than co-parents. He acts like he was raised by wolves.”

“So he’s a little wild. He’s a kid.” Graham shrugged. “It’s your job as adult to not let him get real weapons into his hands.”

Understanding that they just wouldn’t agree on this topic, Emma let the subject pass. Other would-be officers were lining up around her, so Graham lifted a hand, shouted some encouragement, and jogged to the finish line. She could do this, even with a superficial wound to her abdomen. Besides, the doctor never said she needed bed rest or to avoid exerting herself. The lie was unconvincing, but she wasn’t one to back down. Emma dug her heels into the ground and waited for the signal to let loose.

0-0-0

“Incoming patient. Should be quick,” Sydney informed Regina. He slid a clipboard into her hands. “Torn stitches. Just a matter of cleaning up.”

She didn’t bother thanking him; instead she simply entered the room and halted abruptly. Emma Swan stared woefully at her, causing her to sigh heavily.

“I got your text. Tomorrow at noon sounds great.”

Regina shook her head, trying to resist the urge to laugh in Emma’s face. “Dare I ask how this happened?”

“I took a physical test today.” Emma frowned. “I tried a little harder than I needed to.”

“What made you think that performing this task would be appropriate just days after getting stabbed?”

“It was just a little stabbing.” Emma flushed. “So I thought I just needed a little time to heal.”

“Ms. Swan, you are now in competition for the silliest thing I’ve heard today. Congratulations.”

“Yeah? What am I competing against?” Emma winced as Regina was a little rough in swabbing the area.

“Earlier this morning, a coworker informed me that her daughter auditioned for the high school play.”

“Why’s that silly?”

“Her daughter is nearly twenty-six years old.”

“Ah. Well, should my spirits be boosted by the fact that I’m not as silly as that?”

“It’s actually quite a close competition.” Regina swatted her shoulder when she shifted away. “Do I need to give you explicit instructions not to injure yourself further?”

“Nah, I think I get it this time.” Emma grinned, despite the pain. “I can be taught, y’know?”

“Thank heavens for that.” Regina finished up, wondering half-heartedly if Emma was truly worth getting to know. The woman seemed a bit daffy, which was so entirely different from her own disposition. While she knew there was some truth to the idea of opposites attracting one another, she didn’t seriously think that two vastly different people could make any sort of relationship work. As her mother liked to remind her, birds of a feather flock together, and like must marry like.

“You got a second?”

Regina tossed her gloves into the bin and leaned against the counter. “I have other patients, Ms. Swan.”

“I just wanted to say thank you. I don’t know what other doctors woulda done with two little kids running around, but you didn’t scare them. I really appreciate that.”

“I simply did my job.”

“Do you have any kids yourself?”

Regina shook her head. “I married my work.”

“You’re good with them.”

“I wanted to be a pediatrician for many years,” Regina admitted. She shouldn’t be telling this stranger her secrets, she chastised herself, but for some reason, she couldn’t stop. “I love children.”

“So how’d you end up here?”

“Fate works in mysterious ways.”

Emma smiled broadly, as if this weren’t the second time in three days that she had been stitched back together by Regina. “I’d say so. Who would have thought that getting stabbed would bring you into my life, huh?”

Regina walked to the door. “Take it easy, Ms. Swan. I don’t want to see you again.”

“In this context, right?” Emma got to her feet and followed after. “We’re still on for coffee, right?”

Regina knew she ought to say no, just as she shouldn’t have given Emma her number in the first place. So far she had made all the right decisions in her life to be successful, and none of those decisions included spontaneity with an obviously crazy blonde.

“Yes.”


	3. Chapter 3

Emma checked herself once more in the mirror before deciding that anymore effort put into her appearance would make it look as though she were trying too hard to impress Regina. She wore a pair of dark skinny jeans, black flats, and a simple white blouse; all of this was accentuated in a tasteful fashion by a silver bangle on one wrist and turquoise studs in her ears. A light dusting of make-up gave her a small spur of confidence.

“Thanks again, Rubes.” Emma stepped away from the mirror in order to properly view the woman lounging on the couch. Their sons were mysteriously missing, she noted, but that wasn’t her problem now. It was Ruby’s. “I know this is really short notice.”

“All I ask is that you promise to give me the full details later.” Ruby waggled her eyebrows. “Like the rated R play-by-play.”

“We’re getting coffee, Ruby, not playing strip poker.” Emma rolled her eyes. “But I will tell you every boring detail if that’s really what you want.”

“I have to live through you right now, so yeah. That’s what I want.”

“You don’t have to live through me. Just get back out there.”

“I have a kid, Emma. I’m a bartender with a kid. What man in his right mind would want a piece of this?”

“I have a kid, too, and apparently a hot doctor wants a piece of me.” Emma tucked her hands into her pockets, her heart thudding just a bit harder at the thought of what awaited her a little later that afternoon.

“You’re a cop-to-be. Sooner or later you’ll have a uniform, and everybody loves people in uniforms. You’ve got a selling point. Me? I’ve got a kid who thinks stabbing the babysitter is fun.”

“You did talk to him about that, right?”

“Oh yeah. Made it very clear that he’s not to touch another knife for the rest of his life. He’ll be using safety silverware until he’s forty.”

“I need to get going. Call me if there are any problems.” Emma walked to the door. “On second thought, don’t bother me for anything. If I can get stabbed without bothering you at work, you can deal with any and all emergencies while I’m on the first date I’ve had in a few months.”

Ruby lifted a hand and threw Emma a mock salute. “I’m on it.”

“I mean it, Ruby. Don’t bother me for the next three hours.”

“Yup,” Ruby called. “I won’t!”

0-0-0

Regina sat at the coffee place to which Emma had given her directions, an empty coffee cup in her hands. She had gotten there much earlier than she needed to, simply because she had the spare time, hated being late, and wanted to scope out their destination before their--she didn’t quite want to call it a date, but it was what it was.

Maybe the other woman wouldn’t show up, she thought as she checked her watch once again. She doubted that Emma would blow this off, however, given that the blonde was incredibly persistent in the first place. She stood up, her nerves making it too hard to sit still, and tossed her empty cup in the trash can. Turning slightly, she spotted Emma walking through the door and realized she had a few options.

She could leave right then and there before Emma spotted her. She’d done it before out of fear that the reprisals for her actions would be more intense than the good she would receive from the social interaction. Cora would no doubt find out about this little get together, and if Emma Swan was found wanting, then Regina would either have to never see the woman again, or do so very sneakily.

Because she was already thinking in these terms, she realized that walking away just wasn’t an option. She had met the woman twice, and yet Emma had gotten so far under skin that she couldn’t save herself the highly probable guilt by leaving now.

Which left her with the alternative: she would sit with Emma for coffee and discover if this inappropriate crush--for there seemed to be no other way to describe the sudden attachment she had to the stab-victim--was worth exploration. With a deep sigh, she walked to the front of the shop and tried to ignore the way Emma’s face lit up on seeing her.

“You’re very punctual.”

“I tend to be--at least when I’m trying to impress someone.”

“It takes more than good manners to impress me.”

Emma shrugged, her smile crawling easily across her lips. “Then I guess I’ll just have to keep trying. Did you know that I was recently stabbed? And I lived to tell the tale?”

Regina allowed Emma to guide her into line. “Did you now?”

“Would you like to hear the story?”

“I know the story, Ms. Swan.”

“It was late one dark and stormy night. I was in a back alley when this thug walked up to me. He wanted my wallet, but I wouldn’t give it to him. We got into an epic knife fight, which I of course won. I am not a sore winner, though. He hadn’t gotten a single scratch on me, so to save him his mugger’s pride, I let him stab me once before we parted ways.”

“You truly live an exciting life,” Regina droned. She had to admit that Emma was entertaining, even as she was entirely silly. She let her eyes graze down Emma’s figure and decided that she liked what she saw. Emma was clearly trying to look nice but still succeeded in looking like herself.

Emma took a few sidelong looks at Regina as they inched forward toward the counter. The brunette was wearing dress slacks and a formal blouse. She hadn’t known what to expect of Regina out of hospital gear, but the woman was stylish and well-kempt. Everything about Regina screamed money, elegance, and high society. Please, Emma thought, let Regina know how to have some form of fun.

“What do you do in your truly exciting life?” Emma crossed her fingers for an interesting answer. “In your free time, I mean.”

“I went without free time for so many years that I must admit that I’m not really sure what to do with the time I have now. I read a good deal, and I’ve picked up fencing in the past few years.”

“I wish I read more. The last thing I read from cover to cover was the police officer’s training manual. A real page turner, that one.”

“I’d wager it’s still more interesting than any of the medical books I had to read during my graduate work.”

Emma approached the counter and ordered her drink. She gestured for Regina to do the same and then paid for both drinks over Regina’s protests. “I invited you out, so it’s my treat. Besides, it’s not like you ordered the lobster.”

“Thank you.”

“Were there any pictures? In your textbooks, I mean.”

“Detailed diagrams, if those count.”

“They do – which means your books weren’t one hundred percent boring. I’m sure someone looked at them and wanted to puke.”

Regina hid her smile behind her hand. “If I’m being honest, the first time I watched a surgery, I nearly fainted.”

“You have nerves of steel. My blood I can deal with because it’s mine. Other people’s? Ugh, it’s the perfect way to make me pass out.”

“How have you managed your son’s accidents? Forgive me, but I don’t recall his name.”

“Henry.” Emma’s grin widened at the mention of her offspring. “And he’s been really good, actually. No broken bones, no diseases except chicken pox and the occasional springtime flu, and very few scraped knees. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“That’s very lucky, then. And the other boy you had with you?”

“Roman gets into his fair share of scuffles… with dogs, other boys, inanimate objects, you name it. But I’m lucky enough to only be the babysitter. If he gets hurt, I call his mother and she deals with it for me.”

Once their drinks were ready, Emma snagged them and followed Regina to a small table along the back wall. Things were going well, she thought, or at the very least, they weren’t going horribly. There was a natural lull in conversation, but she wasn’t panicking yet. Regina struck her as the sort of person who was well versed in conversation and so would probably have some new topic to talk about if Emma’s brain came up empty.

“He’s a very cute boy.”

“Thank you. I worked pretty hard to make him.” This was supposed to be a date, Emma complained silently. She didn’t want to talk about her son; she wanted to find mutual interests and perhaps kiss a bit if things went well enough. “Do you have any kids?”

“None, unless you count my cat. He’s been like a surrogate child for the past five years or so.”

“You’ve got a cat?” Emma tried to smile, but her allergies seemingly picked up on even the word cat and her nose began to itch. “What’s his name?”

“Sydney. He’s a sweet little thing, almost like a dog. He follows me around from the moment I walk in the door until the moment I leave again. He even follows me into the shower. I’ve never known a cat to like water, but he doesn’t seem to mind.”

“That’s unusual.”

“Do you have pets?”

“Roman acts like an animal, and I watch him four nights a week.” Emma sipped her hot chocolate and watched Regina’s dark eyes glitter at her. The sparkle meant that Regina had found something humorous, Emma deduced. “But other than that, no. Henry has been begging me for a dog, but I’m just not at home often enough to take care of one, at least not yet.”

“Other than getting stabbed, what is it you do?”

“I’m training to become a police officer. I used to work as a bail bonds person, but when Henry was born I really started to rethink my life. He needs someone to look up to, y’know? I wanted to do something he’d want to write a report on later – like those ‘My Hero’ reports you see on T.V., or in movies. I want career day to be awesome for him.”

“That’s very sweet of you. You care about him a good deal, I can tell.”

Back to Henry once again, Emma noted. He was a sweet kid, and she loved him with all her heart, but he was seriously getting in the way of her getting to know Regina with the intentions of theirs being a romantic relationship.

“And you care about your cat, I can tell.” Wincing, Emma forged onward, “I’d love to meet him sometime.”

“He makes it difficult for me to bring anyone home, as he gets jealous when I pay attention to someone who isn’t him.” Regina drank her coffee slowly, already plenty alert due to the caffeine imbibed before Emma’s arrival. Still, the hot drink kept her steady.

“Animals are goofy that way. You’re their human as much as they’re your pet, and that’s pretty sacred.”

“So are children.”

“Why didn’t you become a pediatrician like you wanted?”

Regina shrugged. “The funding that put me through medical school had certain strings attached. I suppose I wanted my degree more than I wanted to help children.”

“Is--” Emma cut herself as her phone buzzed in her pocket. She gritted her teeth, pulled it out, and frowned. “Mind if I take this quick? I wouldn’t normally, but it’s the woman who’s watching Henry.”

“By all means.”

“Ruby, I told you not to contact me for three hours-“

“Henry’s in the emergency room, Emma. I guess I thought that was a good enough reason to call you.”

Emma scrambled to her feet. “What’s he doing there?”

“I took him and Roman to the park. He fell off the jungle gym. His arm is--it’s gotta be broken.”


	4. Chapter 4

“You really didn’t need to come with me.”

If she were to be honest, Regina wasn’t sure why she was sitting in the blonde’s messy car. When Emma had reported her son’s injury, the opportunity to simply duck out of the date without looking rude was available. But she had ignored it in favor of accompanying Emma to the hospital. There had been nothing overtly special about their interaction, but Regina didn’t want her time with Emma to end. She rarely felt any sort of attraction to the people around her, yet Emma had lit some flame in her belly.

“I am aware of social convent. However, I am a doctor.” Regina also wasn’t sure why that was an excuse to go with Emma. She wasn’t going to be the attending physician, and she would likely just be in the way. Perhaps, she thought, she could offer Emma some form of comfort. This was an odd idea, as she was constantly told that she lacked the appropriate bedside manner.

“Thanks.” Emma shot Regina a grateful look before returning her eyes to the road. “I’m sorry our date got cut so short.”

“This is simply adding a layer of adventure.”

“I like the way you think.” Emma swerved into the turn lane, barely remembering to flash her signal. Regina gripped the handle of the door and hoped dearly that Emma paid better attention to her driving. Emma flushed as she noticed Regina’s stiff posture. “Sorry. Kid in the hospital sorta jangles my nerves, y’know?”

“I can imagine.”

“Well, we’ve got a few minutes at this red light. Totally not the time, of course, but I think you should tell me something about yourself.”

“Why is that?”

“You said this was just adding a layer of adventure, which means we’re still on our date, right? So date me as I drive.”

The woman was persistent; Regina had to admit that she found that to be an attractive quality in a person. When others had pestered her for details about her dream companion, persistence and perseverance were two oft-mentioned qualities, as well as passion, determination, and drive. She knew Emma wanted more from her life, and that small fact motivated Regina to continue the conversation.

“I have a weakness for dark chocolate.”

“Yeah?”

“But I find chocolate to be a trite gift in romantic exchanges.”

Emma was suddenly glad she had decided to skip the gesture of buying Regina sweets. She had been tempted to buy flowers as well but ultimately decided that she didn’t want to do too much in case that scared Regina away. She could be a little much at times, and she knew that. A therapist once told her that it stemmed from her abandonment issues, but she hadn’t stuck around long enough to hear how to fix it. She managed it by holding bits of herself back until she deemed it safe to share more with a prospective partner.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Emma smirked. “That is, if you let me see you again.”

She pulled into the parking garage, maneuvered into a spot, and stopped the car. Regina twisted to look at her. “I don’t normally date, Ms. Swan.”

“Neither do I. But I’m willing to make an exception right now, if you are.”

“Perhaps we should talk about this after we find your son.”

Emma snapped to attention. “Shit, you’re right. You just... You have this calming effect on me. I was gonna go into full panic mode earlier, but you kicked my butt into gear. You got me here, and I really appreciate that.”

Regina waved a hand, brushing off Emma’s praise. She had a cool head in times of crisis, a necessity when dealing with emergency room clients. Emma did, too, she noted, unless the person in danger was her son. She could understand; Henry was an adorable child, and she was looking forward to seeing him again, despite the circumstance.

They entered the main lobby and spotted Henry along the back wall. Emma all but sprinted to his side, with Regina following at a safer speed. Ruby leaped to her feet as Emma dropped to her knees in front of Henry, apologies spilling from her lips faster than the tears splattering down her cheeks. Emma ignored her for the moment and placed her hands on her pale son’s knees. He held his arm close to his body but nearly lunged out of his seat to hug her when she was near enough.

She kissed his clammy forehead. “Baby boy, what happened?”

“I fell.” He sniffled, a fresh line of mucus trailing down his upper lip.

“He’s in shock.” Regina took a look at his arm. “From how high did he fall?”

Ruby mopped up her runny makeup before responding. “About five feet. They were climbing trees at the park.”

“It doesn’t look bad.” Regina spoke first to Emma before directing her next words to Henry. “You’ll get a very nice cast, Henry. I bet if you ask nicely, all of your friends will sign it for you. You’ll be quite the popular little man.”

He tried to smile, but the expression wavered. “Yes, thank you.”

“You’re a good sport. You’ll be more careful next time, right?”

He nodded, so Emma stood and dug into her wallet for her insurance card. Twice in one week, she thought. The insurance company was going to love her. She cringed, knowing her premium would likely skyrocket, but she’d prefer he got treatment instead of her saving a few dollars. Regina joined her at the counter and set a hand on her arm.

“He’s going to be fine. I have to get back to work in a few minutes, but I would not be opposed to seeing you again.”

Emma felt a bit overloaded. There was too much at once, she thought, both good and bad, and she couldn’t process it all at once. Still, she wouldn’t turn Regina down. “That would be great. Next time maybe we won’t get interrupted by an emergency room visit.”

“That does seem to be our pattern.”

When Regina waited a moment to watch her, Emma leaned in close and kissed her softly. Regina followed her for a centimeter and then withdrew. She didn’t know much about Emma, but she knew that the kiss they shared was something she wanted again.

0-0-0

Ruby took a few cups down from the cabinet while Emma pulled a bottle of wine from the fridge. They could hear Roman banging around in his bedroom, but neither woman had the energy to go and force him to take his nap. Ruby thought he’d just wear himself out given enough time, and Emma didn’t want to deal with the wild child any more than she had to. She loved Roman, but if only he could be a little calmer… She was a little bias, but Henry had gone to sleep easily and quickly--thanks in part to the mild medication given to him, but mostly due to his obedient nature.

“So tell me about how it went. Before I messed it up, I mean.”

“You didn’t mess it up,” Emma retorted. She had thought the same thing at the time, but Ruby had definitely made the right call. Henry had needed her, and she would never put a date before her son. “You just made things a little more interesting. Honestly, if you hadn’t interrupted when you did, I think she would have found out just how boring I am. Instead, she actually wants a second date.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Em. You’re a lovely lady. Remind me again why we never worked out?”

Emma snorted. “Because you wouldn’t stop talking about the Official Hot Meat of the Week. Wasn’t the best pillow talk, if you know what I mean.”

“Sometimes I wish I could just turn it off.” Ruby handed Emma a glass and took a seat on the couch. Emma plopped down next to her before taking a long, slow sip. “But you know me – gotta have it all, and gotta have it all at once.”

“Maybe someday you’ll meet the one and that one’ll be enough.”

“You keep thinking that.” Ruby slurped her alcohol down and poured a second glass. She was very comfortable with the way she ran her life, and she knew Emma supported her no matter how much the blonde teased or questioned her.

“I’m just bitter that it wasn’t me,” Emma joked. Ruby chuckled. “Now, though, I’m glad I’m single and free.”

“She seems into you. I mean, who goes with a first date to the hospital to take care of her son? Even if she had to leave pretty soon into it, she thought you were worth your family drama. That’s big.”

“It is...” Emma emptied her glass. “I’m trying not to think about that right now. As far as I’m concerned, this is so not a big deal. It’s too soon to be a big deal.”

0-0-0

“I’ve set up a dinner for you.”

“Mother,” Regina said, barely managing to keep her tone even, “I’ve told you before that I’m not interested in dating.”

“I have it on good authority that you indulged in a date this afternoon.” Cora looked over her glasses at her willful daughter. “If you have time to waste on a jobless stab victim, then you have time to eat a meal in the company of a renowned athlete.”

“My love life is none of your concern.”

“It is my concern when you take off more time than is allotted to hospital employees.”

“A minor emergency arose. I was back before too long, and nobody was inconvenienced by a three minute discrepancy.”

Cora glared at her, and she regretted agreeing to meet with her mother once a week for dinner. She had said no once, but then Cora had accused her of hating her family. Conscious that her employment rested on Cora’s favor, Regina had bowed her head and meekly agreed to come week after week. There were some subjects, however, that Regina refused to give into her mother’s scheming. Romance was one of those areas.

“I’ve fired others for less. I cannot show you favoritism, Regina.”

“I’m not asking you to. I’m telling you it won’t happen again.”

“That’s a relief. She was below you.”

Rather than correct Cora’s mistake, Regina let Cora think she was agreeing to not seeing Emma again, rather than agreeing to not be late in the future. Turning the subject away from Emma was a struggle, as Cora tended to latch onto things like a terrier on a rat’s neck, but she managed with a quiet, “Doctors Without Borders contacted me again.”

“There’s no real money in that program.”

But there was adventure and experience, Regina wanted to argue, as well as the chance to help people around the world. “I suppose not, but they’re in need of more willing doctors. We could gain good publicity if we agreed to send some of our staff.”

“Out of the question. The hospital is a business, Regina, not a free medicine machine.”

Regina ducked her head and stared down at her meal. “I understand, Mother.”

“Good. So will you be available next Saturday at eight?”

“For what?”

“Dinner. He’s a professional tennis player and quite the attractive man I hear.”

Her distraction hadn’t worked as well as she had hoped. Regina sighed deeply and dug her heels in. “Mother, I’m not interested. Whether you like it or not, I’m seeing Emma again.”

“I do not like it one bit.”

“I’ve let you dictate my life for as long as I can remember. I went to medical school because you desired it. I became a surgeon because you desired it. But I will not date a person of your choice simply because you desire it. You’re not my pimp, Mother.”

Aghast at Regina’s word choice, Cora fell silent for the rest of the meal. She harrumphed every now and again so that Regina understood her displeasure, but Regina was too proud of rendering her mother speechless to care.


	5. Chapter 5

Henry stared woefully down at his arm as Emma stood at the counter and stirred the pot of macaroni and cheese. His playgroup friends had signed his cast, all the while chattering excitedly about how he was practically a robot now or maybe a superhero, but he knew deep down that this injury was a Bad Thing. He usually reserved the Bad Thing designation for Roman’s behavior, but this broken arm felt pretty on par with putting popping fireworks under the toilet seat without telling Auntie Ruby. Both were funny to others, but neither made his stomach feel particularly good.

“You okay, kid?”

He looked up and nodded. “Yes.”

Leaving the stove, Emma moved to his side and crouched down. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Another meek assent escaped him. When she poked his side playfully, he managed a small grin. That faded, however, as a glimpse of his cast entered his peripheral vision. Sensing his downward swing, Emma kissed his temple and stood. Nothing fixed sad feelings better than some Spongebob shaped mac’n’cheese. She served him his absolute favorite meal and took a seat opposite him.

“Does it hurt?” He shook his head; she had a quiet kid, she knew that, but this was getting ridiculous. “That’s good. If it does, just let me know, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Did you want to hang out with Roman later?”

“No...”

“Did something happen? Did you two fight?”

“No.”

“Kid, normally I’d be thrilled for the peace and quiet, but you’re starting to make me worry.” Emma nudged his untouched bowl of food closer to him. “So take a few bites and start talking.”

Hesitantly, he spooned the cheesy meal into his mouth. The familiar taste did manage to ease his worries, he discovered. Once he swallowed and ran the back of his hand over his mouth, he said, “You still love me?”

“Of course. Where’d you get an idea like that?”

He shrugged. Now when he touched his spoon, it was to play and not to eat. She chose not to comment, hoping that he would explain himself momentarily. Her patience was rewarded. “Roman. He broked his arm. Then his mommy and daddy stopped loving each other. I don’t have a daddy, so you could stop loving me.”

“Aunt Ruby and Uncle Graham didn’t break up because of his broken arm, kid. Sometimes people just don’t get along, and it’s better for everyone if they aren’t together all the time. You get sick of being around Roman sometimes, don’t you?”

“Sometimes.”

“It’s a little like that. They just weren’t happy anymore, so the broke up so they could be happy again. Both of them love Roman a whole lot, just like I love you and...?”

“And I love you.” He still seemed pensive, though, so Emma sighed loudly.

“Lemme guess. You’re worried that I’m going to need a break from you?”

“Yes.”

“Nope. That’s not the way it works. I signed a contract when you were born that says I’m legally bound to adore you forever.” She tweaked his cheek and stood.

“Even if you love someone else more?”

“Someone else?” Although she wanted to soak the pot and rinse the excess cheese out, she waited near the table and focused her attention on her still-quiet son. “Henry, I don’t get it. I’m sorry because I’m just not understanding, but I want you to help me understand.”

“You like Miss Regina a lot a lot.” He watched her carefully, kicking his legs underneath him as he waited for her response, which would be, he knew, an admission that his greatest fears were all real. She loved Regina, and therefore had no more space in her heart for him.

“You’re my baby boy. She’s a woman we just met. Yeah, I like her a lot a lot, but liking someone a lot a lot isn’t like loving them.”

“You love her tomorrow? Then?”

“Even if I love her tomorrow, you’ll always come first. Come on, Henry. A few days ago you liked her a lot, too.”

Two days ago he didn’t have a broken arm, so his relationship with her wasn’t endangered. Still, Emma’s responses were very helpful; they couldn’t completely put his worries to rest, but his anxiety was sated for the time being. She kissed him again and then set about doing the dishes.

0-0-0

Regina answered her cell phone just as she was crawling into bed. She had just showered, which made the feeling of her clean body against the freshly laundered sheets heavenly. Snuggling into the lilac scented pillows, she tucked the phone to her ear, closed her eyes, and sighed out a very content, “Hello?”

“I hope I’m not calling too late.”

“Not at all. Though, truth be told, if you had called ten minutes from now, this might have been a very different story.”

Emma laughed. “I hope it’s not too, I don’t know, forward of me to call you and wish you a good night.”

“That depends,” Regina drawled, “on if you are outside my window at this very moment.”

“Yup. And I’ve got my trusty kitchen knife with me. I thought you might have one I could borrow, but then at the last second, I decided not to take my chances. Besides, I like the grip on this one.”

“Did you have a good day?” Regina tried to ignore that despite commonplace nature of this conversation, it simply felt like she had known Emma much longer than she actually had. This sort of talk was entertaining, and she actually cared how Emma had fared.

“Well, it wasn’t bad. Henry’s not too happy with his arm, and I’m not too happy with him not being too happy. But he’ll heal as long as he doesn’t go falling out of more trees. Sooner or later, we’ll both be back to feeling like our chipper selves.”

“Is there anything I can do to expedite the process?”

Emma cleared her throat and decided not for the first time to take a risk. “He thinks that because I like you a lot a lot, that I won’t have any love left for him. I think my son is jealous of you.”

“A lot a lot, hm?” Regina chuckled. “I suppose I’m honored that he sees me as competition for your affections.”

“I told him that how I feel about you won’t affect how I feel about him, but I think maybe he’s insecure because he doesn’t know you too well. So, like, would you want to maybe come over for dinner this week?”

“One date, and you want me to meet your family?” Regina enjoyed teasing Emma, she found, especially when the blonde reacted strongly.

“That’s not what I mean!” Emma struggled to force her tongue and her brain to interact cohesively. “What I meant is that Henry and you should have dinner. With me there too, of course. Because he matters a lot to me, and you do, too, now.”

Regina imagined that Emma’s cheeks were flushed bright red from the butchered attempt at covering an imagined faux pas. “Relax. I was merely teasing.”

“Haha.”

“Which evening would you prefer?”

“How about Wednesday? It’s the one day of the week that Ruby doesn’t work evenings, so I won’t have to watch Roman.”

“The wild one who stabbed you, correct?”

“Don’t remind me. It only hurts when I think about it.”

“Think about what?”

“Exactly.”

“I believe I’m available on Wednesday.”

“Pencil me in,” Emma requested. “Have your people talk to my people.”

“I’m on call, but chances are that I’ll be able to enjoy a meal with you and Henry without interruption.”

“Did you have a busy day today? Did you operate?”

As Regina talked about her day, she thought about how nice it was that someone outside her family cared about how she was doing, and what she was doing. The amount of niceness in this conversation was beginning to make her skin crawl. She was going to omit her pre-bedtime shower from her retelling of her day, but she was rapidly overtaken by the urge to let Emma know exactly what had happened.

“Sounds like you were much busier than I was.”

“I took a shower just before you called,” Regina murmured, keeping her voice sultry and low.

Emma was silent a moment before her hopeful voice piped back in. “Did you now?”

“Yes. Would you like to hear about it?”

“If you’re offering, who am I to say no?”

Regina smirked. “Well…”

Her sentence was interrupted by a large squall originating on Emma’s side of the phone. Emma shouted something and then returned to the conversation. “Can we pause this? Because, ugh, you have no idea how much I want to hear this, but I think Henry needs something.”

“Go,” Regina replied. Her hand slipped between her legs. “I’ll entertain myself for now, but I do expect you to come back soon.”

0-0-0

“Henry, can you get the door? I don’t want to burn dinner!”

Henry scratched around the top of his cast, wishing desperately that he could reach deeper to really get at the itchy spot. He was rarely allowed to open the front door without supervision, though, so he relished the opportunity and ignored the irritant long enough to hurry over and tug the door open. He smiled up at Regina and, remembering his training, asked to take her coat.

“You’re quite a charming young man.” Regina slipped her coat off and handed it to him. He jumped a bit to get it on the coat rack, so she took it from him and did the chore herself. “Perhaps when your arm is all healed, you can do it properly for me.”

He flushed. “Not my arm, Miss Regina. I’m not so big.”

“You seem taller than the last time I saw you.”

He stood a little straighter. “Momma’s making dinner. In the kitchen.”

She set a hand on his head. “That’s very nice. Let’s let her cook in peace, shall we? Would you give me a tour of your home?”

When her hand strayed lower and remained outstretched, he took it and pulled her from room to room, explaining each location’s purpose and special attributes. He was a precious child, she thought, and although she’d never really desired her own offspring, she could picture having him around. There was a good deal about this family that just felt comfortably right to her. Perhaps it was a bit soon to much such a determination, but she had gone too long feeling out of sorts and estranged from any sort of family.

“Dinner’ll be ready in five minutes.” Emma grinned at them as they entered the kitchen. She wore a simple black t-shirt and skinny jeans in an attempt to look nice, but not like she was trying too hard. The effect was that she looked very comfortable, which only added to her natural air of confidence. “Would you like something to drink?”

“I was just telling Henry what a good little host he was being. I can see where he learned it from.”

Henry beamed up at her. “You want the dino cup?”

“The dino cup?”

“Henry, she’s an adult. She doesn’t want the dino cup.”

Henry tugged a chair to the cabinet and clambered up. Regina wanted to go steady him and avoid another emergency room visit, but as Emma didn’t seem worried by his activity, she remained calm as well. From the cabinet, he removed a see-through plastic cup that had green and blue dinosaurs dancing around and around. He scooted carefully to the ground, walked proudly over, and set the cup in her hands.

“The good cup.”

“Thank you.” She accepted the childish cup and walked to the sink. After filling the glass with tap water, she lifted the beverage up in a small, mock toast. “Thank you, Henry, for the use of this very special cup.”

“You’re welcome.”

“He’s playing it cool,” Emma interjected, “but that’s seriously his favorite cup. I think this means he likes you a lot a lot.”


	6. Chapter 6

Regina was enjoying her evening, although she couldn’t decide which was more appealing: the well cooked food or the playful rapport between mother and son. Henry was a quiet child, but his humor peeked through in shy smiles and dancing eyes, whereas Emma was boisterous and teasing. She had at first felt strange watching his chubby cheeks flaring bright red, but she came to recognize he wasn’t embarrassed so much as pleased with all the attention he was receiving.

She hadn’t had that as a child, she reflected. Her family dinners were morose affairs over which her mother presided. If she so much as smiled, she had to explain her mirth. Every explanation was met with a hardened expression and cold eyes; she’d learned to keep her gaze averted and her face neutral. The only time this was difficult was when her father bothered asking about her day. The rare occasions never failed to bring a grin to her lips, although Cora was always quick in wiping it away.

“Rommie says that those shocky things from the joke store really kill people.” Henry watched her intently. “He tried to get me, but I runned away. I don’t want to be dead.”

“That’s a toy,” she replied. “I promise you that nothing bad will actually happen. It may sting, but you won’t die.”

“I’ve been telling him that for days.” Emma scooped a fresh helping of green beans onto Henry’s plate. “But I guess he’s gotta hear it from a doctor. I don’t count because I don’t have a fancy degree.”

“Your mother knows what she’s talking about.”

He shrugged. “She’s gonna be a police officer, not a doctor. Rommie said I’d go to jail if I took two cookies at snack time, but Momma said that wasn’t true. That’s okay. But she don’t know what’s gonna make me dead.”

“That’s some very fine reasoning,” Regina complimented. He beamed at her until Emma cleared her throat and stared pointedly at his vegetables. “However, Emma knows more than just the law. She’s a good deal older than you are, so she’s had many more experiences.”

“She’s not that old.”

“Yeah,” Emma cut in. “I’m not that old.”

“Are, too,” he retorted.

“He told me you’re only twenty-five.”

Henry figured that while they were conversing, he could get away with not eating his vegetables, so he wanted this to last as long as possible. “That’s pretty old.”

Emma laughed heartily. “I’ll take it.”

“Henry, is lying a crime?”

He nodded, and Regina smirked at Emma. “So, if you were to, say, lie about your age--”

“I happen to be an upstanding member of society.” Emma lifted an imaginary tophat and tipped her head at Regina. “Even if I fudge the numbers from time to time. Henry, you didn’t hear that.”

He giggled. “I arready heard it.”

“Darn it, kid. You’re going to grow up and be a complete hooligan, aren’t you?”

He shook his head. “No, Momma, that’s Rommie.”

“He doesn’t have to grow up for that. It’s his constant state of being.”

“You spend a lot of time with Rommie, hm?” Regina finished her food and politely tucked her napkin alongside her plate. She wished that time were moving more slowly, or that she had eaten at a more leisurely pace. If this evening could last forever, she would trade most anything.

“Most every night. Momma watches him and me while Auntie Ruby is at work. Mostly we play pretend.”

“What do you like to play pretend as?”

“Rommie likes doctors, but I like maybe firefighters.”

“I like eating vegetables.” Emma raised both eyebrows. “You’re not leaving the table until-“

“I know...” Henry sighed and dug his fork in. “Half?”

“All of them.”

While he ate, Emma turned her attention to Regina. “I hope everything was okay. I’m not normally a very ambitious cook, but I wanted to impress you.”

“Everything was delicious. Thank you for your consideration.”

Emma flushed with pleasure. “It’s gotta at least be better than hospital food, right?”

“The food where I work isn’t actually all that horrible. It’s simply overpriced for what it is.”

“The correct answer is, ‘Yes Emma, your food was by far the superior fare.’” Snorting, Emma stood and began to clear the table. She shooed Regina’s attempts at helping her, claiming she would clean up later. As soon as Henry had eaten his green beans, Emma scooped that plate away as well. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Decaf?”

“Regina.” Emma stared at her. “That word is forbidden in this house. Don’t let Henry hear you.”

“Decaf,” Henry sang. “Decaf! Decaf!”

“What am I supposed to tell his teachers when he starts kindergarten?” Emma shook her head sadly.

Regina couldn’t stop the incredulous laugh that erupted from deep within her. She hadn’t felt this content in many years, and she was a little surprised that a simple meal with this little family could make her happy.

“Then I suppose I’ll take whatever you’ll give me.”

Emma reached into a cabinet and fished out a small package of decaffeinated coffee grounds. “Bought special, just for tonight.”

“I see. So you were expecting things to go well enough that I’d want to stay?”

“I’ve always been more of a hope-for-the-best sort of person. Things have gotten pretty bad in the past, but I just keep reminding myself that they’ll get good again someday. Sometimes being optimistic is hard and sucks bad, but I’ve known a lot of wailing pessimists over the years.”

“I prefer to think of myself as a pragmatist.”

“Were you expecting to stay?”

“I was hoping the evening would go well, yes, but I was equally aware that some issue might arise.”

“Wow. So much faith in my abilities as hostess.” Emma grinned to show that she wasn’t truly offended and then hurried to the living room where Henry was sprawled on the floor. Regina followed and took a seat on the couch. Emma yoinked Henry up and over her shoulder, wary of his broken arm, and then carted his squealing, wiggling body to the bathroom. “Brush your teeth, kid.”

“But, Momma-“

“But nothing. You promised me earlier that you’d behave.”

He pouted but reached for his toothbrush. “We’ll go to the park?”

“First thing tomorrow. But you gotta be more careful now that your arm is hurt.”

“Can I say good night?”

“Finish brushing your teeth. We’ll be in the living room when you’re done.”

She walked back to where Regina was waiting. “Sorry about that. He says he’ll be good, and he’ll do everything by himself, but he needs to be reminded, or else he forgets.”

“You’re a very attentive mother.”

“I try. My mom was a little too hands-on, so I’m trying not to be her.”

“Mine was very hands-off during the years that mattered most to me, and then too hands-on when I wanted freedom.” Regina waited while Emma poured her a mug of coffee and then continued. “I suppose all parents believe they are doing what’s best for their children, regardless of reality.”

“In the end, I guess I’ll just be happy if Henry makes it to eighteen without any major psychological scarring.”

“I think you’re well on your way to that goal. You may even consider raising your standards.”

“Well, he’s been physically damaged now.” Emma settled onto the couch and cautiously set a hand near Regina’s knee. She inched it closer until their skin was touching. “So I’m not sure how else I’d raise ‘im, y’know? There’s not much he could do to disappoint me.”

“Break the law?”

“I’ve had a few run-ins with the police myself. Can’t throw kettles in a glass house.”

“I think you’ve mixed your metaphor-“

“The point is,” Emma interrupted, “that as long as he grows up, I’m happy. No matter who he grows into. Except, like, he can’t be a bully. That’s a no-no.”

“I won’t.” 

Henry trundled into the room, fighting a yawn. After brushing his teeth, he’d snuggled into his Mighty Dog pajamas, although he had buttoned them incorrectly. Emma expertly fixed his fashion faux pas before kissing his forehead. He smooched her cheek, and then turned to Regina. Unsure, but willing, Regina presented her face to him – he smooched her cheek as well. 

“I get to stay up late tomorrow.”

“Yup. But good night for now, right?”

He nodded. After murmuring his good nights, he tucked his thumb into his mouth and headed for his bedroom. Emma excused herself for a brief moment to tuck him in, leaving Regina to sip her coffee and think about where she now expected her evening to end. The prospect of spending the night was tantalizing but improbable. Still, she let her mind wander along that pleasant path until Emma returned.

“I have verbal confirmation. The kid likes you.”

“I like him as well.”

“And me?”

“Fishing for compliments, are we?”

“My delicate lady ego depends upon if you like how I look.” Emma padded to the couch and sat much closer to Regina than she had before, as if she could sense what Regina had been thinking about just prior.

“You’re very attractive.”

“Thanks. So are you.” Emma leaned in close. Their noses brushed together and for several seconds, there was silence between them. Emma licked her lips. “I’ll admit that through dinner I was really just thinking about kissing you.”

Regina’s knee-jerk reaction was to point out that Emma had been concerned almost entirely with whether Henry had eaten his vegetables, but she caught hold of her words before they could ruin the tension building between them. Closing the distance, she pressed her lips to Emma’s. Emma’s hands slid around her waist and pulled her nearer; obliging, Regina sidled onto Emma’s lap and draped her arms around Emma’s neck.

Emma’s tongue snuck into her mouth, and she luxuriated in the slick warmth the accompanied the action. There was a lack of finesse in Emma’s technique, but enough passion that Regina didn’t mind when their teeth clacked together, or when Emma’s fingers dug a bit too roughly into her hips. She nibbled on Emma’s lips as they parted and smirked as Emma panted out a very quiet ‘wow.’

Not done with tasting the other woman, Regina placed feather-light kisses along Emma’s cheeks and jawbone. She was dehydrated, and Emma was a font of everything she required. Emma’s eyes closed, allowing Regina to kiss her lids. Slipping her hands underneath Regina’s blouse, Emma ran her fingertips over Regina’s back, catching on the small divots between each vertebrae. Regina’s skin was smooth and firm, and Emma wished not for the first time that she could see every inch without clothing obscuring her vision.

Regina kissed her again, and again, and Emma melted into the feeling. She’d never been kissed like this before, she thought. If she had, the memory was too distant to conjure – as far as she was concerned, no person in the world compared to Regina. A dull ache began to throb between her legs, which intensified as Regina’s mouth latched onto the skin over the artery in her neck. Hating herself, she moved her hands up to Regina’s shoulders.

“Hold on.”

Regina brushed hair from her face and glanced at Emma through her eyelashes. “What?”

“First of all, this is awesome. Like, hot damn, woman.” Emma was sure that if she weren’t flushed from their kissing, she would be blushing bright red anyway. “But I want to take this slow. Henry likes you.”

Regina caught her breath before responding. “I understand.”

Emma kissed her again, but this touch was saccharine rather than fiery. Regina remained on her lap for a good many minutes while they talked of inconsequential things. At a quarter past midnight, Regina gathered her belongings, kissed Emma once more, and walked out to her car. Perhaps someday, she thought, she wouldn’t have to leave. She might make a home with this gregarious, well-meaning police officer in training and her quiet, charming son.


End file.
